By Yussif Ibrahim
Kumasi, Feb. 02, GNA – The Ashanti Regional Office of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) has outlined strategies to promote responsible road behaviour for the year 2024.
The target is to bring down fatalities on the roads this year by working closely with relevant stakeholders, especially road users.
Mr Kwasi Agyenim Boateng, the Regional Head of the Authority in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said his outfit would focus on the critical road user risk groups such as passengers, pedestrians, motorcyclists and tricycle riders in the region.
“We are looking at the safety of vehicle occupants, pedestrians, and motorcycle riders as our main focus this quarter,” he reiterated.
To address vehicle occupant safety, the Regional Head said, they would do a lot of enforcement of road safety standards at lorry terminals, as well as major highways.
The Authority would also enforce operational standards which involved audits, during which vehicle and driver standards would be examined to ensure they were worthy for the road.
Mr Boateng said passenger engagements at lorry terminals would also be intensified by enlightening them on their responsibilities including how to handle passenger-driver conflicts and over speeding issues.
The passengers, he said, would also be sensitised on basic road safety regulations, to empower them to always insist on road safety practices.
“If you want to travel at night and the vehicle you are about to board has no reflective tapes, I don’t think you should go ahead and put your life at risk,” he advised.
He said pedestrian safety especially at school zones would also be prioritised as part of efforts to address knockdowns at such crossings.
“There will be a lot of sensitisations for school children and teachers on the need to be safe along the highways to make them responsible road users,” he added.
He said the education would also be extended to community members along highways, especially in rural areas where over speeding was very common, compelling residents to construct unauthorised speed humps.
“What we have noticed is that these unauthorised speed humps are reactions to over speeding, so we will take them through the right channels to engage road agencies on how to construct proper speed humps,” Mr Boateng said
On reducing motorcycle and tricycle accidents, he said the NRSA would embark on road safety education in mosques and identifiable tricycle rider groups where he believed most of the riders could be reached.
He said their objective was to encourage the usage of helmets to reduce fatalities when motorcycles were involved in accidents.
GNA